To have a hierarchy of drinking vessels?

[mediumbrownmug]

So up until I married, I genuinely thought that certain cups being for tea and others for coffee, etc. was a common practice. I myself have an (admittedly extensive) hierarchy of mugs/cups to be used for each drink. The breakdown is as follows:

Tea should be made in Particular Brown Mug (I have two).
If brown mugs are not available, tea may be made in either of two thin-walled Floral Mugs.
If these aren't available, tea can then AND ONLY THEN be made in one of the Taller White Mugs (we have eight).
If none of the above is available, an emergency dishwasher run needs to take place immediately, and in the meantime one of the bone china tea cups will come out with much fanfare (bone china not being toddler-compatible, they come out but rarely nowadays).

There's a similar hierarchy of coffee mugs. Juice and water also have particular cups, but they're not quite as stringently enforced. DH knows this and accepts it.

The problem is that DH has no Special Mugs. None. He has no issue whatsoever with my hierarchy of tumblers and has even painstakingly learned which ones to grab in various scenarios when he makes the drinks- but he doesn't have a mug that HE prefers. When I ask if he wants tea/coffee I have no idea what to give it to him in.

Wondering if he just hadn't "found the right one yet", I went ahead and purchased a Potential Special Mug for him as a present (he had been dropping hints that he wanted it) and he does like and use it, but refuses to insist that it, or any other drinking vessel, only be used for one particular beverage to the exclusion of all other mugs. I, coming from a long line of Special Mug lovers, find this lack of commitment odd.

By way of comparison, my DF still uses the same Special Mug that he's been drinking from for the past two decades. Even my DGPs each had their own Special Mug marked with nail polish in an inconspicuous spot to differentiate between the two identical mugs so they could tell whose was whose. AIBU to have a Special Mug, and provisions for when the said mug is unavailable?

The Sports Direct mugs got a mention upthread.

My boss uses one of those at work. I thought it was because he is a wanker likes lots of coffee, but judging by this thread, maybe his DW made him bring it to work so she doesn't have to look at its hideousness at home.

Not sure hierarchy is the best word

I have so many vessel related problems that I've never felt able to share before.

It's wrong to drink from any vessel with a dark coloured inside. How would i know when to stop drinking? I need clear signals and boundaries.

I'm thinking of going NC with my adult son. My eyes narrowed when i realised he had let himself in and used my morning mug (first tier mug). Being my own child i was prepared to overlook it. Then began the daily race to get to my mug. I can't ask for the key back he'll feel rejected so it's witness protection and NC.

I was once tricked and lured into having a relationship by a man who asked me, with words, about my vessel system. Then stuck to it. Bastard gaslighter.

Oh and one final element of weirdness......I never drink cold drinks out of mugs....hate it!

That is so NOT weird. It's a horrible feeling. I have to slightly steel myself to drink tea or coffee out of a glass, too, if I order one somewhere and that's how they serve it.

My own mug hierarchy is quite simple, I think, but Darjeeling and Earl Grey have to be in china not stoneware. I do have my 'own' two or three mugs for this purpose but I'm not bothered which one of those the tea comes in. Builders tea I don't mind if it's stoneware.

For coffee, I have a rotating selection and it totally depends what mood I'm in. At the minute I'm favouring the two white mugs made of thickish stoneware, medium size. Sometimes I like quite a small amount of coffee in my big flower-print china one; other times I want a tiny strong coffee in an espresso cup.

shatners I hooted at that 😂😂

I have preferences but it's not strict

Deffo not I only ever drink tea out of my giant mugs (a set of two from next a few Christmas ago) and coffee out of a Westie dog mug bought from Asda about 4 years ago. The rest of my cups/mugs are all for visitors 🙈 (not that we get any, hubby doesn't drink hot drinks either)

As for glasses, we have a set of 6 highball glasses, we used to have a colourful set from Tesco and one random "bubbly" glass from Tesco that is the only glass I'd ever use, but I have a cat who is a dick and broke it and some how or another all the other coloured ones got broken too. So now I just drink tinned Diet Coke 🙈

oldgranny I think it's the best use of the word hierarchy ever. Much better than in a boring office context .

Yes to a lowerarchy - I've now whittled down to mostly only nice mugs but DH has a film themed mug I really don't like, and when I'm irked with him he gets that mug. Also given to lesser-favoured visitors. He doesn't know anything about this of course, it's just my small act of ire.

Cider, however, has to be taken in either my stolen pub pint glass or my husbands 'early doors' edition pint glass.

Yeah, cider house rules....

I operate a mug hierarchy (although only I know the rules) and subscribe firmly to the hot beverage = mug, cold beverage = glass law. DH, who doesn't know or care in the least about the mug hierarchy, insists that cider is drunk out of a particular shallow earthenware cup because that's how he once had it in France. And will fetch said dusty cup and decant the cider if I have the temerity to serve it in a glass.
It tastes better apparently.

YANBU. YABU however, for drinking out of a brown mug!

You are pretty much all batshit crazy...in the most wonderful way.

I am too.

Has to be one of my two tall tapered monochrome pattern mugs for coffee and a thin walled fat tapered mug for tea or it doesn't brew right.
The mugs taper must be curved, not dead straight.

No to drinking cold beverages from mugs...I am not a savage after all.

No straight sided mugs, everything tastes wrong in them, especially narrow straight sided ones.

No mugs with coloured insides. Makes the tea look watery and if it looks weak, for some reason it tastes weak.

Some pricey but gorgeous drinking vessels here for those with a gap in their hierarchy.

www.repeatrepeat.co.uk/contemporary-bone-china-mugs.html

Mmm, mug porn....

Morning coffee always without fail in my Hocus Pocus "oh what a glorious morning" bucket mug.

Tea goes like this:

1. Ancient Bob Geldof mug
2. White mug with cats
3. Gobshite mug

DH hid put my Hocus Pocus mug on a different shelf that usual last week and I firmly believe that my day ended up a total shitshow as a result.

I have favourite mugs- I like big ones with a chunky rim. Nothing too dainty. I'd rather wash one of my favourites than use a non- favourite clean one from the cupboard.

Guests get normal sized mugs as I don't want them to feel they have to drink a massive mug full like I do.

If OH is taking his morning coffee to work with him he's only allowed certain mugs- they tend to get left in his van for a while!

For milk tea

1. Large green chunky mugs (2 of)
2. Large blue (2 of) / geometric blue and green mug (2 of)
3. Green zig zag straight mugs (4 of)

NEVER Ugly promo-style mugs

For herbal or fruit tea

1. Handleless stoneware raccoon mug
2. Bone china squirrel mug
3. Green zig zag straight mugs (4 of)

Coffee:

1. Smaller lilac bird mugs (4 of)
2. Ugly promo-style mugs
3. Ice coffee goes in a glass, not a mug.

NEVER any of the tea mugs

DH does not appreciate this structure, and makes some terrible decisions of mug choice.

OP - You've just made me aware of the fact I have a wine glass hierarchy! Its:

Level 3
Mid week (finishing off a bottle): small cheap Ikea wine glass
Level 2
Saturday evening with OH: regular mid range Ikea medium glass
Level 1
Parties/Special Occasions: Tipperary crystal large glass

:)

I love this thread so much!

I totally have a mug hierarchy.

I have cuddly, rounded, very good at keeping drinks hot mugs, in orange, yellow, red and blue. They are for coffee and must be used in that colour order. Not too happy about using the red/blue ones though, they make me feel slightly unsettled, but are just about acceptable.

Thundercats mug for tea.

Buzz Lightyear MASSIVE face mug for hot chocolate.

I have also adopted a mug at my DP's house. And allocated him a special mug too at his own house, though he has no such proclivities. I've not mentioned this to him, I'm deeply weird enough as it is.

I went to make tea there yesterday and couldn't find my adopted special mug, so sadly, though without comment, went to make my tea in a different mug and DP's tea in his allocated (and unspoken about) mug. DP wandered into the kitchen while the kettle was boiling, looked over at the mugs and without speaking, opened the dishwasher, found and popped my special mug on the side next to his, pushing the non-special mug out of the way and wandered off again, still unspeaking. I luffs him.

All tea and cappuccino may be served in any of my bloomingville mugs. Latte may only be served in my tall red mug that DS bought me for Christmas a few years ago. I didn't think DH had his own hierarchy of mugs as he doesn't drink hot drinks apart from a very occasional hot chocolate, but then I realised that if he has a Lemsip it must be served in a particular mug that usually lurks at the very back of the cupboard. Actually I have a Lemsip mug too - mine is yellow, I've had it for years and years and since I finished University it has only ever been used for Lemsip.
FiL has also decided on the one mug when he comes to our house, and we never use it otherwise.

Thanks to this thread, I poured cold tea all over the cat last night.

I lifted up my "empty" tea mug and turned it over to check the mark (Royal Doulton, dontcha know) and oh look. It wasn't empty.

I have a tea mug, a herbal tea mug, and a couple of different coffee mugs. They are MY mugs and never for anyone else. Visitors get all the other mugs, but never mine. I can't have tea in my coffee mug, that would be INSANITY OMG.

My dad had his tea mug which he used for perhaps 30 years. He loved that mug. Initially they'd had a set, and he used any of them. Then they gradually broke til there was only one left, which was HIS MUG. Then that broke and we spent ages buying him new mugs til we found a new RIGHT MUG for him. It's the same one I have as my tea mug, which confuses the hell out of me when I go to their house, because he seems to be drinking tea out of MY mug, and I have to use a visitor mug, shudder

I am finally amongst friends. [sits down]
DH is a vandal, he once put gravy in my morning coffee mug and he did not even understand what the problem was [shudders]

Mug porn made me laugh so hard! 😂 I have to confess I spent at least an hour last night looking at mugs because of you all.

Tea is in the nice grey John Lewis mug.
Coffee is in the clear glass mug

I will NOT drink anything from the Dr Who mug, this is not acceptable at any time whatsoever

Oh Gods, I've just realised there is a whole other glass hierarchy going on here for different cold drinks, also! With low status ones too!

And a cat feeding bowls one, in addition.

And a chicken feeding bowls one, also.

I'm not normal, am I?

This thread is great.
I too have a mug hierarchy. I also have an aversion to "shiny mugs" and prefer those with a matte finish on the outside.

Tea goes in my spider "I made it with my bum" mug. It is just the right shape and weight and it is perfect.

If that one is not available I have it in my GOT mug which states that I am the god of tits and wine. I also use this one in the morning before big meetings, like a previous poster, it empowers me

Soup, hot chocolate or lemsip/hot squash goes in the massive tigger mug.

DH uses the snap on or kubota mugs for his coffee.

The cupboard is full of other shit mugs that I relegate to visitors 😂